Shooting at night ?

[204shooter]

Morning

Let's say you have an itch that really needs scratching, but the wind is whippin' all day. You watch the evening weather and the man says the wind will lay down at sunset so you load up your gear to do a little shooting.

What kind of lights do you need or is it even possible to shoot at night? light on target? light on you?

Forget the idea of unwanted attention, I have access to lots of private land. Just wondering what it takes to do it.

AK

 

[markm87]

Anything beyond 40-50 yards and the average weapon mounted light gets somewhat useless.

When we'd do night shoots in the summer (due to the heat of the day here) we'd light road flares in front of our rifle gongs. We'd put the flare in front of the target, but behind dirt or a rock... so you can see the light off of the target without getting blinded by the flare.

 

[people]

I have used a lantern with a light shield on half of it. I then put it in front and to the side of the target.

 

[SS427]

The 100 yard range at the club I belong to is set up for night shooting. The bench area is covered and has lighting so you can see what you are doing on the bench. There is a big bank of flood lights about 40 yards downrange that illuminate the target area. Pretty cool.

If you have power, shouldn't be problem to rig something up.

 

[Tozguy]

What about one of those 1 million candle power spot lights that plug into your car/truck power socket?

 

[queen_stick]

If you have a dim light over your gun/setup, so you can see what you're doing, and a light on the target, you can see it fine.

Some of the responses here lead me to believe some of you haven't actually done this You don't need a light source at your firing position to reach your target. You simply need to light up the target (the flare and lantern ideas are pretty good), and light up your firing position, again so you can see what you're doing with your cases, log book, and other accessories.

If you have a safe place to do it (you'd better know for certain what's down range), then go for it. For some reason, It's a bit more fun shooting at night ;D

I'll add, that I have not tried this with open sights... I think it would be difficult. However, with a scope, a lit-up target at night comes in very clear through a high powered scope!

 

[markm87]

I'll add, that I have not tried this with open sights... I think it would be difficult. However, with a scope, a lit-up target at night comes in very clear through a high powered scope!

It stinks with irons.... if you're shooting at any distance. Because then you need some amount of light at your position, but not too much that you overrun your target's lighting....

The obvious solution is NOD gear... but that gets expensive.

 

[kelbro]

Shot a lot of coyotes at night but never tried target shooting. A good scope and decent lighting is all that you need.

 

[bozo699]

I have shot literally 1000's of rounds at night, I do 90 % of my load work at night, I have lighted targets to 300 yards although I have some led flashlights that have there own tri pod that works well also, I place the light just off the side of the target and sweep the light across the target, you don't any shadows on the target, also I keep my spot light handy so I can occasionally sweep the area for deer, my deer have become so accustomed to me shooting I have to shew them away from my targets. The wind is usually less at night and there are no distractions you simply focus on the target, and no mirage!! to deal with, night target practice or load development is the very best IMHO, Also in the mid summer it is fun if you have a really good shooting gun, 6PPC or something we compete shooting moths and millers off the white paper in front of the lights it's great hunting fun ;D
Wayne.

 

[Keith Glasscock]

We shoot 600 yard prone at night here. We have pretty big lights on the target and a small lantern or reading light at the firing line (to see scope adjustments, logbook, etc.).

Works fine with a scope, not worth a darn with open sights (sights disappear in the blackness, and when they reappear, you struggle to focus on them again).

Down side: The wind is nothing short of invisible. Your only optoin is to play chase the spotter. When it is calm, it is just plain fun. We also have a deer problem on the range. Our RO has to sweep the range frequently with a pretty strong flashlight to make sure we aren't going to get any unexpected venison steaks.

 

[204shooter]

Thank you for all the replies. I got the answer that I wanted, that it isn't only possible it is actually preferred by some.

I agree that the lack of wind visibility could be a problem, but I can guarantee on the next dead calm night I will be at my 400 yard line with a couple of strong lights around my target.

AK

 

[bozo699]

Thank you for all the replies. I got the answer that I wanted, that it isn't only possible it is actually preferred by some.

I agree that the lack of wind visibility could be a problem, but I can guarantee on the next dead calm night I will be at my 400 yard line with a couple of strong lights around my target.

AK

At 400 yards the biggest problem is just finding the target in the scope, keep both eyes open with scope turned all the way down and a little practice it isn't bad, and as some have mentioned a little, not much but a little back light at the bench is helpful, I shoot here at my place in the dark to get away from the wind and mirage as it seems to not be windy at night here nearly as much as in day light hours but if it is to windy I just don't shoot. If your shooting from a heated room and it is cold out you will get mirage or rather distortion just like you would from a hot barrel, when that happens you just have to turn the heat off and be happy your not out in the rain or whatever, by the way I have never had a problem shooting in the rain but snow will also cause vision problems at night if the flakes are to big, best of luck to you and have fun!!
Wayne.